Asahi Shimbun Morning Edition – September 12, 1998 Among the many stressful events a person may experience in life, the death of a loved one ranks highest, scoring 100 points on the stress index. Divorce is rated at 73 points. That seems understandable. Marriage scores 50 points, though—it makes one pause and wonder how to interpret that. The film Ordinary People , directed by Robert Redford, portrays the anguish of a family coping with mental illness in a deeply realistic ma

Asahi Shimbun Morning Edition – October 31, 1998 It has been reported that many of the more than one million homeless people in the United States suffer from schizophrenia. This stems in part from the drastic reduction in psychiatric beds from 510,000 to one-fifth that number in 1963, during President Kennedy’s administration—a change whose effects are still felt today. This was the result of a combination of a movement criticizing the harms of long-term institutionalization

Asahi Shimbun Morning Edition – November 7, 1998 As the weather gets colder, it becomes harder to get up in the morning. About an hour after lunch, many people feel drowsy. This kind of sleepiness is a common experience. However, dozing off during a formal matchmaking meeting or an important business negotiation can ruin everything. And sometimes, such drowsiness is not caused by sleep deprivation. A 22-year-old man once fell asleep while waiting at a red light as he was driv

Asahi Shimbun Morning Edition – November 14, 1998 In psychiatric hospitals, time flows quietly, detached from the hustle and bustle of the outside world. While culture in the city is being dismantled, annual events such as Christmas parties, rice cake pounding, kite flying, the Doll Festival, cherry blossom viewing, the Star Festival, sports days, autumn foliage excursions, and birthday parties are held. Many patients enjoy haiku, tea ceremony, and calligraphy. There are 360,

Asahi Shimbun Morning Edition, November 21, 1998 When a younger sister gets married before her older sister, or when a younger brother becomes company president before the eldest son, the pride—and thus the narcissism—of the older sibling is wounded. Jealousy can turn into resentment, and when that flares into a desire for revenge, a "family feud" begins. When such dynamics enter the realm of corporate personnel decisions, it can escalate into petty fault-finding or even digg

Asahi Shimbun Morning Edition, November 28, 1998 The stress experienced by families raising children with congenital disabilities is beyond ordinary. Parents of children with Down syndrome, who have both physical anomalies and developmental delays (intellectual disabilities), often face such harsh realities that some even consider double suicide with their child at least once. Whether it’s a congenital condition or an acquired one—such as a previously healthy person suffering